Dear Colleagues,

As we near the end of 2007, we wanted to take a moment to reflect upon the progress we’ve made this year and the foundation that’s been set for 2008. First and foremost, we want to thank all of our utility partners for their support. The work being done in the Northwest to encourage energy efficiency is among the most progressive in the nation. The vision of our utility partners to work as a regional entity through NEEA has allowed the Northwest to:

• Drive the market for CFLs with more than 10.7 million bulbs being sold in 2006. The Northwest now has one of the highest CFL market shares in the nation.
• Create a program for energy-efficient homes that is one of the most stringent in the nation.
• Lay the groundwork for the energy-efficient technologies of the future including 80 PLUS power supplies, ductless heat pumps, small packaged commercial HVAC and industrial paper making sensors.
• Change the way the regions’ healthcare industry thinks about energy management with hospitals representing more than 30% of the beds in the region committing to adopt a BetterBricks’ Strategic Energy Management Plan.
  

As we look forward to 2008, we will continue to create and implement programs with our utility partners that make the Northwest more energy-efficient for the benefit of our regions’ ratepayers. With new leadership and a new policy-focused board supported by expert committees, we have the ingredients in place for a successful 2008. We look forward to continuing to make the Northwest a national leader in energy efficiency.

We wish all the best to you and your family this holiday season.

Sincerely,
The NEEA Staff

Craig Smith, assistant general manager, Customer and Corporate Services at Snohomish County PUD in Everett, Washington was elected the new chairman of the NEEA board of directors. We recently visited with Smith about his vision for the future. Click here to read the full Q&A as a new feature story on our website.

The NEEA board of directors voted to change NEEA’s governance and board structure at its October meeting. The governance change is the first since NEEA was formed in 1996 and was made following a year-long review.

“Our goal is to nimbly guide the organization’s policies and strategies in a rapidly changing environment,” said board chairman Craig Smith, assistant general manager, Snohomish County PUD, Everett, Wash. “We are also establishing expert committees that we hope will engage our utility partners, state and local program implementers, and other subject matter experts to advise NEEA on technical matters and programmatic direction.”

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The Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) named Richard Beam Energy Manager of the Year for Region 5. Beam, who is director of energy management services with Providence Health and Services in Seattle, received the award at the World Energy Engineering Congress held in Atlanta in August.

AEE recognized Beam for, “outstanding accomplishment in promoting the practices, principles and procedures of energy management.”

“Energy efficiency aligns with Providence’s values and culture,” Beam said. “Stewardship is a core value and we express it as being good stewards of resources in our trust and get the most out of them.”

If you would like to nominate a member of your energy efficiency team to be recognized, let our editor know. 

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More than 100 innovative residential energy-efficient lighting designs debuted in the fifth annual Lighting for Tomorrow competition in September. This year’s contest focused on new fixtures in two categories – solid state lighting (SSL), using light-emitting diodes (LED), and compact florescent lighting (CFL).

“The competition encourages fixture manufacturers to produce a range of new fixtures that will complement home décor, provide high quality light and save consumers money by using less electricity,” said Kelly Gordon, project manager, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Portland. “The ultimate goal is to increase the availability of energy-efficient residential lighting fixtures and increase the marketing, promotion and sales of these fixtures.”

To download a catalog of this year’s lighting winners visit www.lightingfortomorrow.com.

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The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has certified NEEA’s Northwest ENERGY STAR residential lighting program as an exemplary program that focuses on energy efficiency.

The program was recognized for its success and effectiveness in helping customers realize greater levels of energy efficiency. NEEA was commended for this high quality program in ACEEE’s 2007 national review.

See the next article for information on the most recent Change a Light residential compact florescent lighting campaign.

Northwest shoppers purchased more than 1.1 million compact florescent lamps (CFLs) as of October 31, during the fall Change a Light promotion. The promotion ran through December 15 and final sales figures soon will be available. However, in order to achieve the promotional goal of 2.6 million CFLs, Fred Meyer locations will extend the promotion until Feb. 28, 2008.

“The time between Christmas and the end of February is ideal for selling CFLs. We look forward to building on the success of the fall promotion, which was by far the most successful CFL promotion we have ever had,” said Terry Zimmerman, electrical buyer for Fred Meyer.

Fifty-four utilities participated in the campaign, which was supported by a robust marketing campaign that generated consumer awareness about the utility discounted CFL products. Fred Meyer leads all retailers in number of CFLs sold.

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Oregon’s energy code will be 15% more efficient than the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code in April 2008 if approved as expected. The changes to the energy code were approved by the Residential Structures Board in December and include new requirements for incremental improvements to the building shell, such as slightly more insulation in ceilings and floors, window upgrades and high efficiency lighting. While the energy code was approved individually it cannot become official until the entire building code – which includes mechanical, plumbing, and other sections – is approved. That is expected to happen in January. 

The new code offers builders flexibility to choose from a list of additional measures. For instance they can install a high efficiency heating system or install standard efficiency heating equipment but add other measures such as duct sealing, a high efficiency building envelope or a solar photovoltaic package.

The incremental costs of the new requirements will range from $450 to $1,600 per home, depending upon which path the builder chooses. The energy savings to the homeowner, however, will run $20 per month at current energy costs for the life of the home.

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Along with Oregon’s adoption of a tougher energy building code (see related article), Idaho and Washington also adopted more stringent codes in the past year.
In mid-2007, Idaho adopted the 2006 International Energy Efficiency Code and legislative language saying that codes must be updated every three years. The new code will go into effect Jan. 1, 2008. In November 2006, Washington passed a new residential code that increased stringency by approximately seven percent. Montana is considering adopting the 2006 IECC with amendments and has already held several meetings to get input from stakeholders.

“This is good news,” said David Cohan, NEEA project manager. “The number of recent new code adoptions in the region is truly amazing and reflects on the increased importance the Northwest is placing on energy efficiency. Codes are a low-cost and effective way to increase regional energy savings.”

NEEA works with local and state government agencies on behalf of utility partners to achieve building energy codes that generate more energy savings in the region.

BetterBricks held its annual awards in October, drawing more than 600 people to events in Boise, Portland and Seattle. BetterBricks awards recognize architects, engineers, developers, building owners, facility managers, service providers, and other building professionals who demonstrate leadership for sustainable, high performance, commercial buildings in their work.

“Each year we’re seeing more people attending and submitting entries to the awards, a clear indication of how fast the high performance building industry is growing,” said Skip Schick, NEEA senior manager.

Judging criteria for the awards considers the support, design and operations of sustainable, high performance, commercial buildings with a special emphasis on energy efficiency in the Northwest. Visit www.betterbricks.com/awards for a list of BetterBricks award winners.

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These reports provide evaluations of our various energy efficiency projects and relevant market research. Current reports can be downloaded from our Web site (http://www.nwalliance.org/research/index_research.aspx) as well older reports archived for more than 10 years. Please e-mail us any questions or comments regarding the reports at info@nwalliance.org.

ENERGY STAR® Consumer Products, Market Progress Evaluation Report (E07-174)
This third and final report reviews the ENERGY STAR consumer product initiative during the 2004–2006 funding cycle. The project met its overall CFL sales goal of 10.8 million by 2009 ahead of schedule and by a significant margin, with approximately 10.8 million sales in 2006. Findings from a lighting purchaser survey indicate a continued high purchase and overall awareness of CFL, as in 2005. In the clothes washer market, the project has maintained its ENERGY STAR market share goal for 2006, with regional shares exceeding national shares by 10 percentage points (48 percent regionally versus 38 percent nationally). In Oregon, ultra-high efficiency clothes washer sales met the goal of 50% of all ENERGY STAR clothes washers..
[Full Report]

ENERGY STAR Homes Northwest, Market Progress Evaluation Report (E07-175)
The fourth ENERGY STAR Homes Northwest report presents evaluation findings based on telephone surveys of builders and homebuyers and in-depth interviews with verifiers, state energy officers, realtors, and participating builders. Overall, the program is showing positive signs towards market transformation. There has been an increased awareness of the ENERGY STAR label for homes among both homeowners and builders since 2004. Additionally, builders notice the benefits of the label as a differentiator in the marketplace. Findings from on-site audits of ENERGY STAR homes reveal that 50% of the lighting sockets had ENERGY STAR lighting, which indicate greater acceptance and satisfaction with homes among homeowners.
[Full Report]

Local Government Association Support Market Progress Evaluation Report (E07-176)
This is the fifth evaluation of the Local Government Association (LGA) project. While most of the contract requirements are generally being met, Idaho’s association is the only one to fulfill the task of completing a member survey to target outreach efforts. In addition, the quarterly progress reports were not always delivered on a quarterly basis, which may indicate shifting to annual or semiannual progress reporting may be more appropriate. The LGA project continues to provide energy-efficiency support through information, training and technical assistance to encourage communities to adopt energy-efficiency policies and codes.
[Full Report]

EnergyIdeas Clearinghouse, Market Progress Evaluation Report (E07-177)
In the fifth Market Progress Evaluation Report of the EnergyIdeas Clearinghouse, the Heschong-Mahone Group (HMG) finds that target audiences continue to be aware of and use the services of the Clearinghouse. Surveys indicate that targeted audiences remain satisfied with Clearinghouse’s services. However, non-targeted audiences take up 40% or more of the Clearinghouse’s most-labor intensive services. Although requests for information, services and technical assistance have increased in the last two years, the Clearinghouse still fell short of its fulfillment goals for these offerings. However, HMG did find that 51% of surveyed users stated that the Clearinghouse had either suggested new energy efficiency options or affected the users’ energy efficiency choices.
[Full Report]

Industrial Efficiency Alliance, Market Progress Evaluation Report (E07-178)
In the third Market Progress Evaluation Report, Quantec concludes that the Industrial Efficiency Alliance is likely to meet its 2009 market progress goals for food processing and pulp and paper mills “practicing” CEI (Continuous Energy Improvement). However, the adoption of CEI elements among participating firms has not yet been sufficient to measure significant energy savings from changes in business practices. The greatest challenge to food processors, in particular, has been the establishment of energy KPI’s and measurement of energy intensity. To date, Quantec has been able to validate 1.20 aMW of energy savings - the majority of which derive from training.
[Full Report]

Single-family Residential Existing Construction Stock Assessment (E07-179)
This final report characterizes single-family residential existing construction using a sample of buildings surveyed in 2004 through 2006 as part of NEEA’s Distribution Efficiency Initiative. Key findings include: 63% of all homes have one or more CFL installed; 51.5% of primary refrigerators are less than six years old; 81% of clothes washers are top loading, with 56% of them less than six years old; and, 63% have forced air furnaces, of which 49.6% are fueled by natural gas, followed by electric at 41.1%.
[Full Report]

Existing Multifamily Tenant Appliance Efficiency Saturation Study (E07-180)
This report is based on appliance and HVAC equipment found at 32 multifamily housing complexes representative of the existing multifamily building stock in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. RLW Analytics, who conducted the 2004 report, attempted to match equipment model numbers to available efficiency databases. The report includes saturation levels for refrigerators, water heaters, and dishwashers at various efficiency levels. The match rates for clothes washers and HVAC equipment, however, were too low to conduct analysis. 
[Full Report]